


Sing Me To Sleep

by gayrell



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Awkward First Times, First Kiss, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, intrusive retainers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 22:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13669080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayrell/pseuds/gayrell
Summary: "I’m…” He turned away, almost hoping Leo wouldn’t hear his next words. “...I’m tired of fighting.”





	Sing Me To Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> For my friends, without whose encouragement I never would have finished (or even started!!) writing this. Thank you. I love you.

“I’m sorry for letting Niles tie you to a tree.” 

Takumi jumped, the soft voice drifting into his consciousness from where he had been lying on the cusp of sleep. “What the hell,” he grumbled, tossing his head to the side, his hand reflexively reaching for his bow-- he couldn’t see anything, of course. He had pulled his blankets tightly over his head. He threw them off, squinting under the moonlight shining into his room. 

“Oh, uh, my apologies. I didn’t mean to wake you,” said the voice, perhaps a little closer, or perhaps just clearer outside of the realm of his dreams. 

“Shut up,” responded Takumi, muffled into his pillow. If whoever was talking to him right now-- as if he didn’t recognize  _ that _ voice, that  _ stupid _ ,  _ pretentious-- _

“Sorry,” Leo said again, softer, and did Takumi detect  _ uncertainty _ ? “I’ll take my leave.”

Takumi’s head sank into its new spot on his pillow as he listened to Leo pad slowly toward the door. He was surprised he hadn’t heard him come in-- Takumi was a notoriously light sleeper, and Leo… wasn’t exactly a master of stealth. Takumi supposed he should let him leave, but then--

“How did you get in my room?” This was a stupid question, Takumi knew-- none of the doors in Castle Shirasagi had locks on them. Hypothetically, anyone could get in if they really wanted to-- provided they could get past the guards. He would have a word about that with Ryoma in the morning.

“I got Niles and Odin to distract your retainers,” Leo admitted. Takumi groaned. Looked like he would be having words with them, too.

“You didn’t think it’d be  _ creepy  _ to come in here while I was sleeping?” He had to squint against the moonlight shining through the window. Finally, he spotted Leo-- wearing all black,  _ of course--  _ hiding in the shadow cast by the sakura tree outside. 

“Thinking about it now, yes, it was… obtrusive of me to enter your chambers while you slept. Forgive me.” Leo made for the door.

“Hold on,” said Takumi. “You don’t get to just…  _ leave _ . Also,” he added, in a fit of inspiration, smirking at the thought, “Hinata and Oboro could be standing outside right now. How would it look to have the younger prince of Nohr escorted out of the castle for  _ trespassing _ ?” 

It was Leo’s turn to smirk. “They’re dealing with  _ Niles  _ and _ Odin _ . I do not think your retainers will be finished with them in the immediate future.” Takumi rolled his eyes, but held his tongue. He was losing his patience.

“Can you just tell me why you’re in here?” he demanded, rolling onto his side and propping himself onto his elbow. “If you’re here to kill me in my sleep, sending in your retainer would have been more effective.” Though the other prince was still shrouded in shadow, he could see his frown. 

Leo stepped out of his hiding place. “If I truly wanted to kill you--”

Takumi snorted. “I’d be dead already, right?”

Leo’s mouth opened, then clamped shut into a frown. Takumi waited for him to speak. After several moments punctuated only by the sound of crickets, Leo pressed his back to the wall and allowed himself to slide to the floor.

“Prince Takumi, I came here to apologize,” he began, eyes fixed on the hands in his lap, “for my actions toward you during the war. In particular--” His eyes flashed upward, meeting Takumi’s. 

“Wait, you broke into my room in the middle of the night--  _ while I was sleeping _ \-- to say  _ sorry _ ?”

“Prince Takumi, please listen.”

Takumi sat up. He shivered as the air hit his bare chest. “ _ Gladly _ .”

“I would like to apologize for what happened to you when my retainers and I found you wounded in the forest.”

“You tried to kill me!”

“Our families were at war!” Leo shot back, back straight as a board. They stared each other down, neither one blinking. Takumi realized he was gripping Fujin Yumi, before Leo slumped back down.

“I apologize,” he said, “It seems the war is fresher than either of us expected.”

Takumi moved his hand away from his bow, but kept his eyes on the blonde prince. “Maybe you shouldn’t be here right now,” he said, voice low. Leo looked up, eyes wide.

“I came here to make amends. I don’t know when next I will be given the opportunity--”

“The daytime,” said Takumi icily.

“Right. I apologize--”  
“Stop apologizing! It’s getting annoying,” huffed Takumi, turning his gaze to the cherry tree outside. The branches swayed in the wind, shaking petals to the ground. It had been a blustery spring.

“My mistake. I’ll make sure to have a….  _ word… _ with Niles. Sleep well.”

“Wait, did  _ Niles _ put you up to this?” Takumi called, but Leo had already slid the door shut behind him.  Takumi didn’t sleep a wink that night.

\---

“He broke _ into your room  _ in the middle of the night?” Hinata’s jaw dropped, apparently unaware of his complicity in the events of the night before. Oboro smacked him on the arm.

“Because of  _ us _ ,” she hissed, then turned to Takumi. “Lord Takumi, we are so sorry. We’re unfit to be your retainers. If those…” she tried her hardest not to grimace at the word, “ _ Nohrians _ had done anything to you--”

Takumi raised a hand. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s  _ not _ , but…” He sighed. “It was Niles and Odin, right? “

Hinata nodded, his head a blur. “Please forgive us, Lord Takumi!” 

Oboro glanced at her companion, then added, “Don’t blame Hinata. I should’ve been more careful--”

“It’s fine,” muttered Takumi. He’d spotted a certain blonde prince standing with his back to him in the gardens. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

“Lord Takumi?” called Oboro, but Takumi had already begun striding away, spurred by the sudden notion that there was something he needed to do.

“Hey, Leo!” he called. Apparently he sounded more aggressive than he’d intended, because Leo turned with an expression of alarm. Upon seeing Takumi, however, his face quickly returned to its normal detached state. 

“Prince Takumi,” he responded, voice steady. He was standing next to Elise, who looked between the two of them questioningly. 

“Hey, Takumi!” she called, with a slight lilt in her voice. “How’s it going?”

“Elise and I were just admiring your gardens. We don’t see a lot of plant growth back home in Nohr,” said Leo, turning back to the sprawling beds of flowers. 

“You have sunflowers here!” Elise jumped up and down, bending over the fence to sniff a cluster of lilacs. 

“Those are Sakura’s favorite,” said Takumi, a smile lurking at the corners of his mouth. The two of them would get along, he thought. 

“Hey, Elise--” Leo started, but Elise had already bent over and plucked some lilacs from the garden.

“I’m gonna go find Sakura,” she said with a jump and a wave, “See you guys later!” She ran off, leaving nothing but the scent of lilacs behind her.

“You wished to speak with me?” asked Leo, after Elise had disappeared around the doorway leading to the shrine. 

“Huh?” asked Takumi. He’d forgotten his original mission. “Oh, yeah.” He stopped, trying to formulate his thoughts into something resembling a coherent point.

“You want to discuss last night,” Leo sighed. Takumi wanted to be annoyed at the prince’s ability to say what he was thinking before he could even think it, but it was honestly a relief. Instead, he nodded.

“Let me apologize again for the…  _ unfortunate  _ circumstances of last night. I wish only to speak with you in private,” said Leo, staring out at something beyond the flower bed. It was a fountain, Takumi realized, the fountain of their mother Ryoma had constructed after the end of the war.

Takumi sighed and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath, then said, “Look, I don’t… I don’t care about…  _ whatever  _ was going on last night.” When he looked up, Leo was staring at him with brows raised. “I mean, yeah! It was really weird! But I’m…” He turned away, almost hoping Leo wouldn’t hear his next words. “...I’m tired of fighting.”

He watched as a hummingbird flitted between the lilac bushes, its long beak darting in and out of the flowers as it passed. He leaned his elbows on the fence, suddenly aware of how tired he was, and let his head hang between them.

“I’m… I’m tired, too, Prince Takumi,” said Leo softly. Takumi raised his head. “I only wished to, hmm, clear the air between us, but,” he lowered his voice, “Obviously Niles had different plans.”

Takumi laughed at that, a single chuckle so loud that it made Leo jump. Then, Leo smiled, too, and then he laughed, and Takumi laughed some more, and they both laughed until there were tears in their eyes.

Leo’s face was flushed red, his mahogany eyes sparkling in the waning Hoshidan sun. When he glanced over, Takumi looked away.

“Something on my face?” asked Leo, eyes glittering. Takumi recognized this expression.

“Not my fault you’re funny looking,” Takumi responded with a shrug. Leo rolled his eyes.

“Would you like to take this elsewhere, or do all Hoshidans act like children in public?” Takumi began to protest, but stopped himself when he saw the look in Leo’s eyes.

“I haven’t actually seen where you’re staying yet,” grinned Takumi, then, realizing what he was saying, blushed. “I mean, if that’s alright with you--”

Leo smiled. “If it brings peace between our kingdoms, I don’t see the harm.”

\----

Leo was staying in one of the many guest rooms at Castle Shirasagi, a relatively barren affair with a futon in the middle and a view of the gardens. It wasn’t too different from Takumi’s own chambers, despite being a bit smaller.

Takumi waited in the doorway, suddenly feeling out of his element. There was something very surreal about standing in someone else’s bedroom, much less the bedroom of the prince you had tried to kill only months earlier. 

Leo had paused halfway across the room. “You can come  _ in _ ,” he said, unbuttoning his sleeves. He was dressed in high-waisted pants that hugged his frame just right, and Takumi had to distract himself by looking out the window.

“You got the best view in the castle,” said Takumi, swallowing. Leo joined him next to the window. 

“I suppose I do,” he said, glancing at the increasingly red-faced Nohrian at his side. “Are you alright?”  
“Of course I’m alright!” snapped Takumi. Leo suddenly averted his gaze.

“You know you’re allowed to leave at any time… if you want to,” he said softly.

“Why would I do that?” Takumi snapped again, then, coming to his senses, “I mean, no, that’s not what I meant, I do want to be here, I’m just--” he groaned. “I… I don’t know what I’m doing, okay?”

If Takumi had been expecting a retort from Leo, he received none. In fact, his confession was met with silence.

Gingerly, he turned his head, only to find that Leo had done the same. Takumi had to quell his rising fight-or-flight response as he stared at the other boy’s rouge cheeks, his averted eyes, his rose petal lips. 

Leo closed his eyes. “Would you like me to do it for you?” he asked, exhaling through his nose. 

Takumi tsked. “Oh, right, you’ve probably done this before,” he muttered, heat rising to his cheeks. It would be stupid to assume a Nohrian prince  _ didn’t  _ have any… experience.

Leo looked him straight in the eyes. “No, but I’ve read about it. And Niles--” he stopped, cheeks flushing.

“Okay, then, let’s, um,” Takumi scooted closer, raising his hands ever so slightly. “Is it alright if I kiss you?” 

Takumi didn’t wait for an answer. His mouth landed on Leo’s just as the blonde prince began to laugh, so that Takumi wound up knocking into Leo’s teeth.

“Ouch,” he muttered, without moving away, and Leo began to laugh some more. Their teeth clacked together, Leo grinning, Takumi filled with the competitive primal urge to wipe that smug look off of Leo’s face. 

Teeth made way for tongues, wet, hot, sloppy kisses passing between lips. Leo’s face cupped in his hands like a sacred relic. 

Too soon, Leo pulled away. “That was disgusting,” he said, smiling all the same.

“Yeah,” agreed Takumi. His face felt sticky and clammy, but he couldn’t suppress a grin, either. His nose throbbed from bumping into Leo’s too many times.

They stared at each other like this several moments, princes of Hoshido and Nohr finally meeting as equals, before Takumi lunged at Leo, sending the two of them sprawling to the floor. Leo let out a small gasp.

“Are you alright?” asked Takumi, eyes wide, thighs straddling Leo’s hips. Leo let out a choked laugh.

“They didn’t mention this part in my books,” he panted. Takumi blushed.

“You’re okay, right?” he asked. Leo nodded. “You wanna… keep going?”

At Leo’s say-so, Takumi planted another wet, messy kiss on Leo’s lips and began fumbling with the buttons on Leo’s shirt.

“You really don’t have these in Hoshido?” asked Leo, covering Takumi’s hands with his own as he struggled with one particularly tricky button. 

“Shut up,” begged Takumi, brow furrowed.

“Here.” Leo brushed Takumi’s hands aside and undid the rest of the fastenings on his shirt. 

Takumi stared at the pale chest beneath him, a hand absentmindedly floating down to touch the unblemished skin. He planted a kiss above Leo’s belly button. He wasn’t sure why, he only knew what felt right in that moment. He wanted to fall asleep on this chest, to drift off as Leo ran his fingers through his hair.

“Can you--” Takumi stopped, looking away.

“What?” Leo’s voice was soft, gentle. Trustworthy.

“Would you mind… playing with my hair?” Takumi asked, suddenly feeling more naked than the boy lying beneath him. Leo smiled, but it wasn’t one of his knowing, sarcastic smiles.

“Sure,” he said simply, and Takumi removed the bands holding his hair in place. Leo rose, reaching a finger out to run through the silver curtain that cascaded around Takumi’s back and shoulders.

“Wow,” breathed Leo. “You look… good with your hair down.” Takumi flushed. “Can I…?” Leo reached for the sash holding Takumi’s  _ yukata _ closed. Takumi stiffened for a moment, but allowed his robe to flutter open. The air was cool, but Takumi felt very warm.

“W-What?” he asked, after Leo had been silent for a long moment. Leo startled, as if breaking out of a trance.

“It’s nothing. You’re just…” He coughed. “...less ugly than I’d imagined.”

Takumi scowled, pulling his  _ yukata  _ closed with one hand. “Oh yeah? At least I don’t look like I just crawled out of my mother’s womb.” They glared at each other before Leo turned away, a hand over his mouth, his body convulsing.

“Leo?” Takumi crawled toward him, stumbling over his open  _ yukata _ . There were tears in Leo’s eyes, and as he watched Takumi, he began convulsing even harder. “Hey! I-- It’s not funny!” 

“My-- my mother’s womb,” gasped Leo, through tears. Takumi stared, mouth agape, until he began laughing, too. By the time they were finished, the sky outside shone orange and pink, and the two of them lay next to each other on the floor.

“I apologize for laughing,” said Leo, after a time. Takumi shook his head. 

“I didn’t know you  _ could  _ laugh,” he admitted, his arms splayed out beside him.

Leo rolled onto his side. “I  _ do  _ have a sense of humor, Prince Takumi.”

Takumi rolled to face him. “Yeah?” 

Leo smiled, eyes watching something Takumi couldn’t see.

“Once, Elise and I planned a party for Xander--”

“Lord Takumi!” The unmistakable voice of Oboro reverberated down the hall towards the guest rooms. The princes jumped to their feet, looking desperately about them for any missing articles of clothing as the footsteps outside made their way steadily toward Leo’s room. Leo silently tossed Takumi’s  _ yukata  _ sash toward him, and Takumi tied it tightly around himself. 

Before he could make it to the door, however, it thudded open, Oboro and Hinata poised in preemptive fighting stances. They straightened when they saw Takumi.

“Why is your hair down?” asked Hinata. In his haste, Takumi had forgotten to put his hair up. He blushed.

“What’s going on?” asked Takumi, trying his best to keep his tone casual. His retainers glanced at each other.

“Apologies, Lord Takumi. We received…  _ news _ that Prince Leo may be planning something,” whispered Oboro, glancing between him and Leo. Takumi looked over his shoulder at Leo, who raised an eyebrow.

“We couldn’t find you, so we hunted down his retainers, and they told us everything!” added Hinata. Takumi threw another glance over his shoulder. Leo grimaced.

“Thanks for the concern,” said Takumi, “But I think I can handle it. Besides,” he moved in closer, “You really think I’d lose to the likes of him?” Leo scowled.

“You’re right,” Hinata muttered to himself.

“And stop talking to Le-- Prince Leo’s retainers,” Takumi added. “Especially that one with the eyepatch.”

The retainers eyed each other once more, then nodded.

“Let us know if you need anything, Lord Takumi” said Oboro.

“We got our eyes on you!” Hinata called to Leo.

Leo waited until the door had slid and the two’s footsteps had receded down the hall to speak. “Your retainers are certainly… something.”

Takumi collapsed next to him on the futon. “I owe them my life,” he sighed. Leo nodded, sliding a hand over Takumi’s. Takumi stiffened, then leaned into it, until his head rested on Leo’s shoulder. 

The two sat in silence, watching the moon rise over the gardens until the only thing they could hear was the sound of their own breathing.

Leo shivered. “I suppose we should get under the covers,” he murmured, after a time.

“We?” Takumi blanched.

Leo waved his hand, face turned away. “Ah, my apologies. It would be unbecoming--”

Takumi raised his head. “It’s not that,” he said, his words urgent, insistent. “I was just, you know. Being... stupid. Move.” 

Leo peeked at the other boy. Takumi had already begun moving, hair tickling Leo’s nose as he stood, then held out a hand.

“You’re cold, right?” His voice was insistent, but he was careful not to meet Leo’s gaze. At Leo’s silence, he added, “Hey, it was your idea.”

Before he could draw back his hand, however, cold, smooth fingers wrapped around his wrist. Takumi took them in as Leo pulled himself to his feet. 

“What, just going to stand there, Prince Takumi?” Leo smirked. “I am your guest, you know.”

Takumi rolled his eyes, but threw back the covers. “After you,” he said. He gave Leo a push. The prince stumbled forward, throwing a glare over his shoulder before crawling under the covers. Takumi pulled the covers over them as he slid behind Leo.

They lay there, stiff as boards, the room dark and silent. Takumi swallowed, raising his arm, gingerly moving it toward the other boy.

“Are you gonna--” Leo began.

“I’m doing it, okay?” retorted Takumi, throwing his arm around the blonde prince. The room fell into silence once more, the two boys melting into each other. Takumi tentatively touched the bare skin above Leo’s waistline, where his shirt had ridden up. Leo sighed through his nose, Takumi taking this as his cue to slide his hand upwards until his thumb was brushing a nipple. 

“Can you… take off your shirt again?” asked Takumi softly. 

Leo chuckled. “Only if you take yours off, too.” Takumi whined. They listened to the crickets, to each other’s breathing, to the occasional creak from the hallway.

“Alright, fine,” breathed Takumi. He didn’t know if he would regret this in the morning, but for now, he just wanted to fall asleep next to the boy in his arms. Leo rolled over, and smiled.


End file.
